Using data from four deep fields (COSMOS, AEGIS, ECDFS, and CDFN), we study the correlation between the position of galaxies in the star formation rate (SFR) versus stellar mass plane and local environment at z < 1.1. To accurately estimate the galaxy SFR, we use the deepest available Spitzer/MIPS 24 and Herschel/PACS data sets. We distinguish group environments (M-halo similar to 10(12.5-14.2)M(circle dot)) based on the available deep X-ray data and lower halo mass environments based on the local galaxy density. We confirm that the main sequence (MS) of star-forming galaxies is not a linear relation and there is a flattening towards higher stellar masses (M-* > 10(10.4-10.6) M-circle dot), across all environments. At high redshift (0.5 < z < 1.1), the MS varies little with environment. At low redshift (0.15 < z < 0.5), group galaxies tend to deviate from the mean MS towards the region of quiescence with respect to isolated galaxies and less-dense environments. We find that the flattening of the MS towards low SFR is due to an increased fraction of bulge-dominated galaxies at high masses. Instead, the deviation of group galaxies from the MS at low redshift is caused by a large fraction of red disc-dominated galaxies which are not present in the lower density environments. Our results suggest that above a mass threshold (similar to 10(10.4)-10(10.6) M-circle dot) stellar mass, morphology and environment act together in driving the evolution of the star formation activity towards lower level. The presence of a dominating bulge and the associated quenching processes are already in place beyond z similar to 1. The environmental effects appear, instead, at lower redshifts and have a long time-scale.

We obtain total galaxy X-ray luminosities, L-X, originating from individually detected point sources in a sample of 47 galaxies in 15 compact groups of galaxies (CGs). For the great majority of our galaxies, we find that the detected point sources most likely are local to their associated galaxy, and are thus extragalactic X-ray binaries (XRBs) or nuclear active galactic nuclei (AGNs). For spiral and irregular galaxies, we find that, after accounting for AGNs and nuclear sources, most CG galaxies are either within the +/- 1 sigma scatter of the Mineo et al. L-X-star formation rate (SFR) correlation or have higher L-X than predicted by this correlation for their SFR. We discuss how these "excesses" may be due to low metallicities and high interaction levels. For elliptical and S0 galaxies, after accounting for AGNs and nuclear sources, most CG galaxies are consistent with the Boroson et al. L-X-stellar mass correlation for low-mass XRBs, with larger scatter, likely due to residual effects such as AGN activity or hot gas. Assuming non-nuclear sources are low-or high-mass XRBs, we use appropriate XRB luminosity functions to estimate the probability that stochastic effects can lead to such extreme L-X values. We find that, although stochastic effects do not in general appear to be important, for some galaxies there is a significant probability that high L-X values can be observed due to strong XRB variability.

We present the first comprehensive archival study of the X-ray properties of ultracompact dwarf (UCD) galaxies, with the goal of identifying weakly accreting central black holes in UCDs. Our study spans 578 UCDs distributed across 13 different host systems, including clusters, groups, fossil groups, and isolated galaxies. Of the 336 spectroscopically confirmed UCDs with usable archival Chandra imaging observations, 21 are X-ray-detected. Imposing a completeness limit of L-X > 2 x 10(38) erg s(-1), the global X-ray detection fraction for the UCD population is similar to 3%. Of the 21 X-ray-detected UCDs, seven show evidence of long-term X-ray time variability on the order of months to years. X-ray-detected UCDs tend to be more compact than non-X-ray-detected UCDs, and we find tentative evidence that the X-ray detection fraction increases with surface luminosity density and global stellar velocity dispersion. The X-ray emission of UCDs is fully consistent with arising from a population of lowmass X-ray binaries (LMXBs). In fact, there are fewer X-ray sources than expected using a naive extrapolation from globular clusters. Invoking the fundamental plane of black hole activity for SUCD1 near the Sombrero galaxy, for which archival Jansky Very Large Array imaging at 5 GHz is publicly available, we set an upper limit on the mass of a hypothetical central black hole in that UCD to be less than or similar to 10(5)M(circle dot). While the majority of our sources are likely LMXBs, we cannot rule out central black holes in some UCDs based on X-rays alone, and so we address the utility of follow-up radio observations to find weakly accreting central black holes.

We present the Palomar Transient Factory discoveries and the photometric and spectroscopic observations of PTF11kmb and PTF12bho. We show that both transients have properties consistent with the class of calcium-rich gap transients, specifically lower peak luminosities and rapid evolution compared to ordinary supernovae, and a nebular spectrum dominated by [Ca II] emission. A striking feature of both transients is their host environments: PTF12bho is an intracluster transient in the Coma Cluster, while PTF11kmb is located in a loose galaxy group, at a physical offset similar to 150 kpc from the most likely host galaxy. Deep Subaru imaging of PTF12bho rules out an underlying host system to a limit of M-R > -8.0 mag, while Hubble Space Telescope imaging of PTF11kmb reveals a marginal counterpart that, if real, could be either a background galaxy or a globular cluster. We show that the offset distribution of Ca-rich gap transients is significantly more extreme than that seen for SNe Ia or even short-hard gamma-ray bursts (sGRBs). Thus, if the offsets are caused by a kick, they require higher kick velocities and/or longer merger times than sGRBs. We also show that almost all Ca-rich transients found to date are in group and cluster environments with elliptical host galaxies, indicating a very old progenitor population; the remote locations could partially be explained by these environments having the largest fraction of stars in the intragroup/intracluster light following galaxy-galaxy interactions.

Supernova driven winds are often invoked to remove chemically enriched gas from dwarf galaxies to match their low observed metallicities. In such shallow potential wells, outflows may produce massive amounts of enriched halo gas (circumgalactic medium, CGM) and pollute the intergalactic medium (IGM). Here, we present a survey of the CGM and IGM around 18 star-forming field dwarfs with stellar masses of log M-*/M-circle dot approximate to 8-9 at z approximate to 0.2. Eight of these have CGM probed by quasar absorption spectra at projected distances, d, less than that of the host virial radius, R-h. Ten are probed in the surrounding IGM at d/R-h = 1-3. The absorption measurements include neutral hydrogen, the dominant silicon ions for diffuse cool gas (T similar to 10(4) K; Si II, Si III, and Si IV), moderately ionized carbon (C IV), and highly ionized oxygen (O VI). Metal absorption from the CGM of the dwarfs is less common and approximate to 4 x weaker compared to massive star-forming galaxies, though O VI absorption is still common. None of the dwarfs probed at d/R-h = 1-3 have definitive metal-line detections. Combining the available silicon ions, we estimate that the cool CGM of the dwarfs accounts for only 2%-6% of the expected silicon budget from the yields of supernovae associated with past star formation. The highly ionized O VI accounts for approximate to 8% of the oxygen budget. As O VI traces an ion with expected equilibrium ion fractions of less than or similar to 0.2, the highly ionized CGM may represent a significant metal reservoir even for dwarfs not expected to maintain gravitationally shock heated hot halos.

We present a Chandra study of the hot intragroup medium of the galaxy group NCG 2563. The Chandra mosaic observations, with a total exposure time of similar to 430 ks, allow the gas density to be detected beyond R-200 and the gas temperature out to 0.75 R-200. This represents the first observational measurement of the physical properties of a poor groups beyond R-500. By capitalizing on the exquisite spatial resolution of Chandra that is capable to remove unrelated emission from point sources and substructures, we are able to radially constrain the inhomogeneities of gas ('clumpiness'), gas fraction, temperature and entropy distribution. Although there is some uncertainty in the measurements, we find evidences of gas clumping in the virialization region, with clumping factor of about 2-3 at R-200. The gas clumping-corrected gas fraction is significantly lower than the cosmological baryon budget. These results may indicate a larger impact of the gas inhomogeneities with respect to the prediction from hydrodynamic numerical simulations, and we discuss possible explanations for our findings.

We present a 45 ks Chandra observation of the quasar ULAS J1342+0928 at z=7.54. We detect 14.0(-3.7)(+4.8) counts from the quasar in the observed-frame energy range 0.5-7.0 keV (6 sigma detection), representing the most distant non-transient astronomical source identified in X-rays to date. The present data are sufficient only to infer rough constraints on the spectral parameters. We find an X-ray hardness ratio of HR = -0.51(-0.28)(+0.26) between the 0.5-2.0 keV and 2.0-7.0 keV ranges and derive a power-law photon index of Gamma= 1.95(-0.53)(+0.55). Assuming a typical value for high-redshift quasars of Gamma = 1.9, ULAS J1342+0928 has a 2-10 keV rest-frame X-ray luminosity of L2-10 = 11.6(-3.5)(+4.3) x 10(44) erg s(-1). Its X-ray-to-optical power-law slope is alpha(OX) = -1.67(-0.10)(+0.16), consistent with the general trend indicating that the X-ray emission in the most bolometrically powerful quasars is weaker relative to their optical emission.

With Hubble Space Telescope imaging, we investigate the progenitor population and formation mechanisms of the intracluster light (ICL) for 23 galaxy groups and clusters at 0.29 <= z <= 0.89. The colour gradients of the BCG+ICL become bluer with increasing radius out to 53-100 kpc for all but one system, suggesting that violent relaxation after major mergers with the BCG cannot be the dominant source of ICL. The BCG+ICL luminosities and stellar masses are too large for the ICL stars to come from the dissolution of dwarf galaxies alone, given the observed evolution of the faint end of the cluster galaxy luminosity function, implying instead that the ICL grows from the stripping of more massive galaxies. Using the colours of cluster members from the CLASH high-mass sample, we place conservative lower limits on the luminosities of galaxies from which the ICL at r < 100 kpc could originate via stripping. We find that the ICL at 100 kpc has a colour similar to a 10(10.0) M-circle dot galaxy and that 75 per cent of the total BCG+ICL luminosity at r < 100 kpc is consistent with originating in galaxies with L > 0.2 L* (log(M-* [M-circle dot])> 10.4), assuming conservatively that these galaxies are completely disrupted. We conclude that the tidal stripping of massive galaxies is the likely source of the intracluster light from 10 to 100 kpc for galaxy groups and clusters.

As an evolutionary phase of galaxies, active galactic nuclei (AGNs) over a large range of redshifts have been utilized for understanding cosmic evolution. In particular, the population and evolution of AGNs have been investigated through the study of the cosmic X-ray background in various fields. As one of the deep fields observed by Chandra, with a total of 2.8 Ms exposures, Abell 133 is a special region for investigating AGNs, providing a testbed for probing the environmental effects on AGN triggers, since cluster environments can be different from field environments. The achieved flux limits of data at the 50%. completeness levels of 6.95 x 10(-16), 1.43 x 10(-16), and 1.57 x 10(-15) erg s(-1) cm(-2) are 0.5-8, 0.5-2, and 2-8 keV. Using the wavdetect and no-source binomial probability (i.e., p < 0.007), we analyze the combined Chandra image, detecting 1617 (in 0.5-8 keV), 1324 (in 0.5-2 keV), and 1028 (in 2-8 keV) X-ray point sources in the Abell 133 region. Here, we present the X-ray point source catalog with the source fluxes, which can be combined with multiwavelength data for future works. We find that the number count distribution of the X-ray point sources is well reproduced with a broken power-law model, while the best-fit model parameters are sensitive to the fitting range of the number count distribution. Finally, we find an excess of number density (a decrease of AGN fraction) at the central region of the cluster, which reflects the effect of dense environments on AGN triggers, a finding similar to those of other studies of galaxy clusters.

We report the discovery of six spatially extended (10-100 kpc) line-emitting nebulae in the z approximate to 0.57 galaxy group hosting PKS 0405-123, one of the most luminous quasars at z < 1. The discovery is enabled by the Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer and provides tantalizing evidence connecting large-scale gas streams with nuclear activity on scales of <10 proper kpc (pkpc). One of the nebulae exhibits a narrow, filamentary morphology extending over 50 pkpc toward the quasar with narrow internal velocity dispersion (50 km s(-1)) and is not associated with any detected galaxies, consistent with a cool intragroup medium filament. Two of the nebulae are 10 pkpc north and south of the quasar with tidal-arm-like morphologies. These two nebulae, along with a continuum-emitting arm extending 60 pkpc from the quasar, are signatures of interactions that are expected to redistribute angular momentum in the host interstellar medium (ISM) to facilitate star formation and quasar fueling in the nucleus. The three remaining nebulae are among the largest and most luminous [O III] emitting "blobs" known (1400-2400 pkpc(2)) and correspond both kinematically and morphologically to interacting galaxy pairs in the quasar host group, consistent with arising from stripped ISM rather than large-scale quasar outflows. The presence of these large- and small-scale nebulae in the vicinity of a luminous quasar bears significantly on the effect of large-scale environment on galaxy and black hole fueling, providing a natural explanation for the previously known correlation between quasar luminosity and cool circumgalactic medium.